TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Pretty quiet here!

Hey guys, any "news from home", for those who are travelling soon, and can't wait to be there???

Not going until August but it is nice to get reviews and updates.

For anyone coming to the island in the next little while just a notice
that GEBE, the electrical supply company on the Dutch side, Is continuing with 90 minute controlled power outages in areas. They call this load shedding a technical term for system maintenance. Power was off in the MAHO area early this afternoon.
Not too alarming unless you step into an elevator and the power goes off.

Drphilsxm

Thanks Phil. Will try to temper my expectations. GEBE can always be counted on to disappoint.

They call it Load Shedding. I call it Rolling Blackouts.

Yes, same thing.

Power outages have become a big problem on the Dutch side. Maybe someone could start a list of hotel , guesthouses etc with back up generators. I know Marys Boon Hotel on Simpson Bay has a big generator, large back up water cistern and even star link satellite internet for the entire property. I would think some other properties do to but not always for the guests rooms too. Just a thought to be aware of since its a almost daily topic. I can't. imagine being in an elevator when the power goes off! yikes.

This "Load shedding" thing is a real problem!!! It's going to get worse before it gets any better with so many new builds going up. GEBE can't handle what it got now!!! I have a friend that lives in South Africa, she tells me, every day between 2-4 pm they lose power "Load shedding". Fortunately, they invested in a huge generator!! "Foreversxm" has a good idea!!! Gather a list of places to stay on the dutch side with full backup power!

Flamingo has a very large generator. When GEBE goes out, daily, it kicks on instantly. Never any water issues and very strong internet.

“Instantly” is very unlikely. It’s more likely something that happens within minutes. Unless they have a huge battery bank, and an agreement with GEBE to do a “closed transition” transfer between Utility power and Generator power, there will always be a gap in power. Nobody ever talks about it, but there will also be a gap in power on the other end, when switching from Generator to Utility power.

La Vista and La Vista Beach have backup generators and cisterns.

Simpson Bay Resort has had a huge bank of generators for many years. Well taken care of there.

Well. How does a minute work for you?

Both La Terrasse and La Plage have generators . Been that way since the beginning. Also the Sonesta hotel. All in Maho.
Living in La Terrasse and experiencing the load shedding dozens of times, I can say that the generator kicks in about 15 seconds after the outage. When the outage is over, there is also another 15 second outage for the changeover.
A couple weeks ago, in the morning, I stepped into one of the three elevators at La Terrasse at the beginning of one of those outages. That is not the best feeling. Fortunately 30 seconds later I was on the move again..

Drphilsxm

Right on Scuba, less than a minute ! !

At LaVista generator kicks in in less than 10 seconds.

I’ll be there tomorrow if all goes well. Kind of a spur of the moment thing.

Arriving Next Friday. ITS BEEN SEVEN YEARS and my 6 year old daughters first time. We all can't wait! Trip reports may be sporadic. Going to be very indisposed on the beach and swimming.